Jeannie
by soprano193
Summary: Castle gets three wishes! What will they be?


They were in the house of Ian Law, their latest victim, trying to find out whatever they could about him. He had been found dead in his bed by the cleaning woman, who had gone in to vacuum.

Currently, Kate was looking through the pamphlets she had seen on his desk, trying to find out more about the victim. They had gathered he frequented yard sales. His collection of things were rather eclectic. From fancy red velvet sofas to modern looking tables, ethnic rugs and masks, and a mish-mash of bright colors. It looked like he was still trying to figure himself out. While she looked around, Castle was, well, being Castle. He lifted a brass lamp, one that looked like it was plucked right out of the Cave of Wonders itself. "Hey! Beckett! Do you think I'll get three wishes?" He asked, closing his eyes and rubbing it.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Stop fooling around, Castle, and help me out." She dropped some magazines on the table next to him. "Look through these and tell me what you can about Law's personality."

He put the lamp down and did as she said, looking through the pile of travel magazines. Travel definitely explained some of the more interesting items, including the lamp. Before he had the chance to tell her, they heard the click of a door unlocking. They looked at each other, their eyebrows scrunched in confusion as they looked toward the other bedroom door. "Didn't the uni tell you he had processed the scene?"

She nodded, still not speaking, and he knew that poor uni had no clue the rage coming his way. There were few things Kate Beckett didn't like, and shoddy workmanship was one of them. They watched as the door opened and a blonde woman stepped out, rubbing her eyes like she still wanted to be in bed. When she took her hands away from her eyes, she startled as she saw the two people in her living room just standing there. "What the hell?"

Beckett pulled her badge out before the woman could ask anything else or do anything rash. "Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD. I need your name please, and your relationship with Mr. Ian Law."

She pushed a blonde ringlet out of her face and behind her ear. "Jeannie Lovett. Did Ian do something illegal?"

"Jeannie?" Castle was almost bouncing with excitement, because this couldn't just be a coincidence. "Seriously, your name is Jeannie? Oh, that is so cool!" He rushed toward the woman, talking fast and ignoring the look his wife shot him. "I mean really Beckett, I just put that thing down and a real live genie appeared!"

He reached out to touch her, dumbfounded, and she pulled away. "What are you talking about?" She was watching him with wary brown eyes, flickering them between him and the detective.

He winked at her. "Oh, I get it. It's a secret." She humored him, nodding slowly.

Kate pulled on his arm. "Castle!" She hissed at him, a noise he didn't enjoy hearing. "Seriously, what are you doing? This is a crime scene, and you are being extremely disrespectful."

He grounded himself back to reality. She was right after all, and he didn't want to ruin her rapport with this potential witness. "You're right." He turned back towards Jeannie and offered her a small smile. "Sorry." If Jeannie was a real genie, he'd want to think about his wishes anyway, not rush into them. He'd never get what he wanted that way.

Kate moved toward her tentatively. "No, Ian didn't do anything illegal. He's dead."

Jeannie's head bobbed up and down once. "Oh."

* * *

Back at the precinct, Kate had given hell to the uni who left Jeannie's room unchecked. The blonde was on her way to chat with them while Kate took care of paperwork and explained the situation to Gates. Castle was telling the boys about the real life genie. "What do you wish for when you're super rich anyway?" Espo asked him in the break room.

Castle shrugged, taking a sip of his latte. "Something that doesn't exist. I wish to meet an alien, or I wish for a functional lightsaber. I wish to understand the mind of a woman. Things like that."

"Would you use them all for yourself?" Ryan asked, leaning against the table. "Like, would you wish to bring Johanna back?"

Castle nodded with enthusiasm. "Of course I would. But I can't."

"Why not?"

"It's against the rules. You can't make a person fall in love with you, not that I need any help with that, you can't raise people from the dead, and you can't wish for more wishes." Castle explained, resting his head in his fist.

"How do you know all that?" Ryan laughed as if he found the rules ridiculous.

"Alexis' favorite movie growing up, Aladdin." He shot a knowing look in the younger detective's direction. "Get ready, the age of Disney is upon you."

Esposito laughed as Ryan sighed, looking down into his cup. "It already started. Sarah Grace can't get enough of that stupid snowman."

The other men in the room roared with laughter. It only stopped when Beckett walked around the corner, looking in, "Castle." She called. "Jeanette is back." He noticed her hesitance to use her nickname, Jeannie, as if calling her by her given name would make him forget the incredible circumstances by which she appeared. "If you can control yourself enough not to freak her out, you are allowed to join me."

He jumped up and followed his wife, calling over his shoulder at the boys. "My genie awaits!"

Jeannie was looking around the interrogation room. She didn't appear guilty, instead she seemed annoyed. "So, you and Mr. Law were roommates?" Kate asked, positioning a notebook in front of her.

Jeannie shrugged. "Yeah, but I never really saw him."

"Why didn't you see him?" Castle asked, curious. It amazed him how people could live together and yet barely know the other. It seemed so strange.

"He travelled a lot." She explained, a smile on her face. "He wrote for a travel magazine, got to see the world. Everything I wanted to do." Her brown eyes connected with Castle's. "It's why I answered his roommate ad, I hoped his travel bug would rub off on me." She sat back in her seat. "But it never got the chance to grab on to me. He would be gone for a month or two, come home and lock himself in his room while he wrote for a few days, and then he'd jet off into paradise again. I think I had ten conversations with the guy." She looked up, heartbreak in her eyes as she sought out Kate. "I talk to his mother a lot though, did anyone call her?"

"Wait, you don't talk to him, but you talk to his mother?" Castle was incredulous, it was an interesting part of the story that he hadn't anticipated.

Jeannie nodded. "Yeah. She lives in Indiana, and Ian didn't always have the option to call her while he was on assignments. She worried, and called the apartment more than once hoping he was home."

It was a feeling Castle understood far too well. This semester, Alexis had taken the opportunity to study abroad. She wanted to go to Paris, but he had protested, telling her that he would do nothing but worry the entire time. She had argued back, saying she was an adult and could make the decision herself. She had eventually conceded after talking with Kate, realizing that he would be constantly worried as long as she was in France. "I can't have a good time if I know you're stuck here worrying." She had told him, wrapping her slender arms around his neck. "Spain. I'll go to Spain."

Kate nudged him in the interrogation room, snapping him back to reality. "That's going to be a tough phone call. If that happened to…" He stopped, unable to even complete the thought. It was already distressing him. Kate grabbed his hand and ran her thumb in soothing circles over his wrist.

"Do you know someone who is traveling?" Jeannie asked him, her face concerned.

Castle nodded. "Yes. My daughter is in Spain, I don't get to talk to her much." She had refused to pay for an international plan, so they FaceTimed on Saturday nights. It wasn't the same. "Sometimes I just wish I could know what she was up to more often, you know? I worry about her, out there all by herself."

Jeannie nodded. "That's what Ian's mom wanted too."

They finished up quick, Jeannie jotting her number down so they could reach her if they needed her. She left as quickly as she had appeared, muttering something about finding a new roommate without a second glance in Castle's direction. Kate had dismissed him too, telling him to go email his daughter, and let her know she was missed.

* * *

His conversation with Jeannie was completely forgotten the next day. He was at a book signing and in the zone, the world a flurry of names and paper. "Who should I make this out to?"

"Alexis Castle?" The voice was male, not his daughter, but he was intrigued. The young man had sandy brown hair and green eyes. His features were soft, and he looked entirely out of his element. "I, uh, had to come home for a week, family emergency. I told her I'd get her copy of the book signed. It's in Spanish."

"How is she?" He asked as he flipped through the book. It was indeed in Spanish, her loopy handwriting was along the bottom of the back cover, the same place she always put her names in her books.

"Good. She misses you, but she's having a blast. It's kind of how we all feel."

Castle began writing on the front cover of her book. _Hey, Pumpkin! This was a surprise, you got me! I miss you terribly, and can't wait to wrap you in my arms again. Don't do anything I wouldn't do. I love you._ "And your name?"

"Peter. I'm a senior, criminal justice."

Castle nodded, a smile stretching across his face. "That was my wife's major."

Peter chuckled, some of the nervousness disappearing. "I've heard. Alexis talks about you all. You must be proud of her."

"I am. Are you excited to go back?"

Peter nodded. "Yeah! I'm jealous, Lex and our group of friends went to Stonehenge without me. I saw the pictures on her blog."

"She has a blog?" Castle pulled out a piece of paper and shoved it toward the younger man. "Can you write it here for me?"

"Of course." Peter took the pen Castle provided and wrote down the website. He handed them both back. "I have to get going. It was nice meeting you."

"You too. Have a safe flight back."

That night, when he typed in the website, and bookmarked it on his browser, he found that Alexis posted something about her travels almost every day. It comforted him, and made him feel closer to her. And reading it each morning as he went to work with Kate relaxed him more than he had anticipated.

* * *

It was a week before he saw Jeannie again. She walked into the Old Haunt and sat herself down next to him. "You work with that detective, right?"

He nodded, taking a sip of his beer. "Yeah. How's the roommate hunt going?"

She shrugged. "It's alright. How are you doing?"

"I've been better." He answered, surprised by his own honesty.

"I've been told I'm an excellent listener." She ordered her drink, before turning back to him. "What's up? Is it the case?"

Castle chuckled. "No, nothing case related. Just a fight, I guess."

"With your wife?"

He nodded. "It wasn't exactly a fight, she just kept shutting me down." They didn't fight like normal couples, there was rarely yelling or tension. No, instead, one person shut down discussions before arguments actually started, leaving the other feeling upset and angry. Time apart was often what they needed to clear their heads, hence why Kate was currently talking Lanie's ear off and he was down here.

"What is she shutting you down about?"

"A baby." He blurted before realizing who he was talking to. Kate would kill him if she knew. Good thing he wasn't actually police, just a consultant. "Any time I try to bring it up, she shuts it down. I haven't brought it up in months, and I just hint at it today and she runs away."

She knocked back her shot before pushing him some more. "So, I'm guessing she doesn't want kids and you do? I thought you already had a kid?"

"Alexis is just mine. I want one with her." He explained. "And I don't know what she wants, we never talk about it. I just wanted to gauge where she is, not push. Maybe it came across that way." He had learned long ago that pushing things with her was not the way to get what he wanted. And this was a huge decision, not something he could feel comfortable pushing her in either direction on. Ultimately, she was the one making the sacrifice, not him. "But she doesn't even want to hear me when I try to tell her I don't care either way. I just want her, you know. I chased her for four years, and I knew what I was getting in to with this. Kids or no kids, as long as I have her I'm happy. But she doesn't want to hear it."

"That sounds frustrating. I don't know, maybe just give her more time?"

He shrugged. "What other choice do I have?" He finished his beer. "Sometimes, I just wish she would open up to me about this."

"Sometimes that's easier said than done."

He laughed. "You're telling me." He gestured to Nick, the bartender. "I'm heading out, see you all later." He pointed to the blonde who had been sitting next to him at the bar. "And put her next drink on my tab." He squeezed her shoulder appreciatively as he left. "Thanks for listening."

"Whatever you need, Mr. Castle."

* * *

Back at the loft, Kate was already tucked into bed. Castle changed without speaking, jumping into the warmth of his bed. He was surprised when Kate turned to him, wrapping her arms around his torso and resting her head on his chest. "I want kids with you, you know. It's just always been about timing for me."

"I know." He soothed, pressing his lips to her head.

"And I was almost ready until Tyson and Kelly targeted us. It set me back. I couldn't imagine bringing kids into the world with psychopaths like that running around."

He hummed in approval. "It's not something people typically think of when they want to start families."

"How can I not, though?" As soon as she said it, he knew she was right. "I mean, I've seen my fair share of pretty terrible things in this world. I've been through some pretty terrible things." He didn't need her to elaborate. He knew to what she was referring. She moved her head so she could look in his eyes. "But then I thought of you, and all the wonderful things I've experienced with you, and how I want our child to experience that too. I want them to learn to focus on the good things in life and not the bad."

He grinned. "It's a good lesson, and I'm pretty good at teaching it."

She laughed. "Yes you are." She looked away again but held him closer to her, melting into him. "But today it was about timing in a different way. And you brought it up again and I was upset because you were ruining all my big plans."

"You don't need elaborate plans just to have a conversation with me."

"I know." She hesitated. "I just wanted to do something special. I didn't just want to blurt it out and that be the end of it."

"Blurt what out?"

She pushed herself up so she could see his face. "That I'm pregnant."

He couldn't believe it for a minute. He stared at her, waiting for the moment that she would tell him she was kidding. When she didn't, his jaw dropped. Her grin was infectious as she nodded, wordlessly affirming her seriousness. He reached out to touch her flat abdomen, imagining it growing in his mind's eye. "There's a baby in there!" He whispered, not quite ready to shout it to the world.

She laughed. "Yeah, a little you or a little me."

He shook his head. "I'll be so disappointed if it's a little Espo." She whacked him playfully before bringing her lips down to meet his. When she pulled away, she rested her head on his chest while he rested his hand on her stomach. He knew he wouldn't feel anything, but he liked to pretend. "I love you." He said into her hair.

"We love you too."

* * *

Of course, everyone was thrilled. Alexis got a picture in the mail, the one that Kate wanted to give to him. She had lined up their shoes, even found an old pair of Alexis' flats, and added a pair of baby booties to the end. _The Castle Family, growing by two feet!_ They knew when she got it, because she began blowing up their inboxes and squealed all night on FaceTime. Jim was so happy he started crying, and the boys argued for days about who would be the best uncle. But it was late at night when Castle realized what should have been obvious to him. So when Kate was fast asleep, he snuck into her files and found the number he suspected was behind it all. He dialed it, not taking note of the late hour.

"Yeah?" A voice answered on the other end.

"You are a genie!"

"That's my name, so yeah. Who the hell is this?"

"Richard Castle, and I am so not falling for your games. My wife is pregnant."

"Congrats." Her voice was flat.

He sat at his desk. "Yeah, but it only happened after I wished for it that night at the bar!" He felt triumphant.

"You didn't wish for your wife to get pregnant!"

He let out a smug chuckle. "Yeah, I did."

He heard her sigh. "No, you wanted her to open up. She was pregnant before you talked to me. I am not that good, so don't make me out to be."

Had he wished for that? The night was fuzzy, he didn't remember much. He remembered having a drink with her, about telling her all his problems, about making a wish, but not what he wished for. "Well, she did open up, so either way, I'm on to you."

"That had nothing to do with me either!" She sounded exasperated. "You were fighting, she felt bad, she told you what she wanted, and you made up. It's called a relationship."

Castle was not backing down. "So if I said I wished I got to spend more time with my mother, what would happen?"

"I'd ask you if she's dead. And why."

He stopped. Had he really just used his last wish? "She's not. She's touring with her show. She has such a good relationship with Alexis, and sometimes, I worry that it won't be the same with my other kids." Now that he was having other kids. It still hadn't sunk in yet.

"That's up to her, isn't it? There's nothing I can do for you. Now can I go back to bed, Mr. Castle?"

He sighed. "Yeah, sure. I'm sorry. Thanks for listening to me talk. Again." She didn't respond, just hung up. Castle got up to go to bed, his phone in his hand, when it started to ring. "Hello?"

"Richard, darling, did I wake you?"

He smiled. Jeannie was good. "No, I was awake. How are you doing, mother?"

"Just splendid, dear." He couldn't help but smile as he listened to his mother talk. He wouldn't admit it, but he had missed her presence in the loft. "I have news for you."

"Good or bad?"

"Good, of course. Why else would I call now?"

He laughed. "Because you knew no one would be up?"

"What? No, I just found out. My show is going to Broadway. Permanently!"

He paused. "Does that mean you are out of a job?"

"No, no, no, don't be ridiculous. It means that I can be on the New York cast and leave the touring company. I can come back to the city, Richard. Spend time with you, and Katherine, and my new grandchild."

"Mother, you don't need to uproot your life for us."

"Richard, don't be crazy. You are my life."

He smiled at that, his heart warmed as they said their goodbyes and hung up the phone. He curled up in bed next to his wife, and all he could think was that he wouldn't have spent his wishes any other way.

Days later, when there is a break in the case, he isn't surprised to find the number disconnected. He isn't surprised when there isn't a record of the phone call on his bill, or an extra drink on his tab. Jeannie had disappeared. He had his suspicions why, but honestly, who would have believed him anyway?

* * *

**A/N: I had this prompt in my drafts for so long! I hope I did it justice! It was so much fun to write! prompt (from castlefanficprompts)- Castle somehow encounters a Genie, and is granted three wishes. What does he wish for (pre or post-Caskett)?**


End file.
